Photo Credit: USA
I first want to thank Dar for covering the show last week while I was fighting some horrific allergies. While I was sad to have missed last week’s episode, I am quite glad I was well enough to watch tonight’s episode because it was a good one. We not only see the return of some familiar faces from Season 1, but it also addresses some big personal issues of a couple of our main characters that is long overdue.
For those who have watched Fairly Legal since the beginning, you probably remember grumpy, old Judge Nicastro (Gerald McRaney) who always seemed on a personal mission to make Kate’s (Sarah Shahi) life a living hell (and, even had her thrown in jail on one occasion). Tonight, Nicastro is back, this time appointing Kate to mediate a case of a son suing his father for losing his hand in an accident while working on his father’s boat. The father’s story – the son was high on drugs. The son’s story – the father just doesn’t want to pay. Regardless, it is clear that something bigger is going on, and it is Kate’s job to figure out what that is – either that, or face Judge Nicastro’s fiery temper.
In the process comes some of the funniest scenes in the entire episode. A lot of viewers have speculated just where the “new guy”, Ben Grogan (Ryan Johnson), is going to fit into the entire mix. I’m not entirely sure where that may ultimately be, but tonight, it was comic relief as Kate’s “sidekick”. To get to the real story behind her fishermen client, she has to chat-up some of his shipmates at a local bar. Armed with a skimpy tank-top and tight-fitting jeans, Kate knows exactly what to do. Ben – not so much. Walking into a seedy bar in a suit and tie, Ben’s comment, “Uh, I didn’t know we were dressing down” was priceless, and the way he defended Kate (even getting punched in the face!) was really cute. I really like what they’re doing with this character, and I’m looking forward to seeing how he is further developed throughout the season.
As Kate does with all of her mediation cases, she quickly gets to the real issue, which is the father blaming the son for his brother’s death. To win her case, she proves that the brother’s death was an accident. Now, all that is left is forgiveness. But, some pretty harsh words had been exchanged between father and son, words that can’t be taken back – perhaps they are beyond forgiveness. But, Leo (Baron Vaughn) is skeptical and is quick to question, “Are we ever past forgiveness?” That’s a very good question. As Kate sees the father and his son embracing, she realizes that the lesson in this case hit close to home.
One of the things I’ve always loved about Fairly Legal is how the writers integrate parts of Kate’s cases with issues in her own personal life. Tonight’s lesson is forgiveness. Kate was so busy being angry at Justin (Michael Trucco) for his infidelity that it took the case with the fishermen to realize her lack of forgiveness was only making her miserable. So, she chooses to forgive. I think this is the first of many steps of Kate maturing and actually growing up. Besides this, she seems to be a little more organized and punctual than we saw in Season 1, and heck, even Judge Nicastro yelled at her less than normal. It’s going to be a slow process, but we’re getting there.
But, the best part of the entire episode came at the very end. I don’t know about the rest of the viewers, but Lauren (Virginia Williams) has never been one of my favorite characters. She always struck me as a bitch from hell, and there have been times I’ve just wanted to punch her in the face. But, tonight, we see a softer side of Lauren, as well as the pain she has felt since her husband’s death. Even still, with the urging by Judge Nicastro, she decides it’s OK to move on and let her hair down – literally. Yes, we discover tonight that Lauren, indeed, has hair! For those of you who are on Twitter, you really should follow @FairlyLegal and the #FairlyLegal hashtag. If you did tonight, you will know that #FreeLaurensHair came very close to trending. So hilarious!
All in all, this was a very good episode. There was a good storyline, and a great deal of character development. That, together with well-written comedic scenes, made for a good foundation for the remainder of the season.
